300 Sandwiches’ Stephanie Smith On How To Make the Perfect Sammie

We have been huge fans of Stephanie Smith over the New York Post’s Page Six for as long as we can remember. It turns out, when she isn’t chasing down scoop about Brad Pitt or various New York City socialites, she has been hard at work in the kitchen working on a blog that has until very recently been anonymous—300 Sandwiches.

Here’s the premise. Smith’s boyfriend Eric told her once she made him 300 sandwiches he would propose to her. So far she has made 177 sandwiches (this has been going on since 2012), which means she has 123 sandwiches to go. Naturally, various blogs are up in arms about what Smith is up to. Jezebel wrote: “This is the exact plot of that controversial unaired episode of Sex and the City when Samantha talks the gals into getting that hot new designer lobotomy and Charlotte somehow ends up with a MacArthur Genius Grant and Carrie becomes a Scientologist before they convince Big to get their brain parts back.”

Smith responded to the criticism saying: “This project is not about me promoting myself as some gourmet chef, nor a desperate plot to win Eric’s love—or a movie deal or Internet fame.”

Via 300 Sandwiches

Gender politics aside, we are pretty obsessed with all of the awesome sandwiches that Smith has been creating. Because seriously, who doesn’t love a really great sandwich? Smith’s favorite sandwich that she has created so far is the “Working Late Prime Rib Steak Sandwich With Caramelized Onions”—otherwise known as number 19. Seriously, yum. “I wanted to prepare something filling that would be great with red wine, because I was in the mood to drink red wine on a hot summer night for some inexplicable reason,” Smith wrote of the sandwich. Read on for how to make it yourself.

Ingredients:
1 pound prime rib (think a quarter pound of meat for each sandwich)
1 medium sized onion
2 medium sized ciabatta rolls or sandwich buns
2 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp black pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 cup arugula
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp old style mustard
3 tbsp butter for cookingDirections:
Carmelize the onions first, since they take about 30 minutes to cook. Slice up a medium sized onion in thick slices, and place in skillet with about 2 tablespoons of butter (or you could start with one tablespoon, and add another gradually as the onions cook down so they don’t stick). Let them cook down until brown, stirring frequently so they don’t stick to the pan. Turn the heat down to low after about 5-10 minutes of cooking so they don’t cook too unevenly or quickly. When onions are brown and clear, take off heat.
While the onions are cooking, prep the beef. I used a rub of rosemary, thyme, black pepper and kosher salt, but feel free to use whatever seasoning you like. Finely chop the thyme and rosemary, and rub over both sides of each steak. Rub black pepper over each side as well, then sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt. Place meat in large skillet over low to medium heat. If you turn it too high, the outside will cook, but the inside will not. Thick steaks can take up to 25 minutes to cook. Flip the steaks once halfway through cooking. Steaks are done once the inside of the meat reaches around 120 degrees.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then slice into thin slices for sandwich. Put a bit of olive oil or butter on buns and toast for about 4 minutes in oven or in toaster at medium darkness. Rub a thick, seedy mustard on both slices of bread. Dress arugula in olive oil, salt and pepper, and place on one side of sandwich buns. Layer steak on top, then layer caramelized onions on top. Top with other slice of sandwich bread. Cut in half if you prefer. Makes two to four sandwiches.Head over to 300sandwiches for some more of Smith’s mouthwatering recipes!